NAL Premiership Round 2 – Derby – Saturday 5th July
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Written by Alex Seftel and Daniel Rees
Thames Valley Harriers’ Great Britain international hurdler Chris McAlister says his side are “very confident” of retaining their National Athletics League title, despite Harrow AC impressing in the first match of the season.
Harrow took victory by 644.50 points to 628 at Eton in May, giving them an advantage of one league point and 16.5 match points going into the second round of the Premiership season in Derby this Saturday 5th July.
Tony Bush’s side achieved the same feat last year, only for TVH to roar back at Woodford and then also win the final decider in Birmingham last August.
McAlister, who represented GB at the World Athletics Championships in 2019 and 2022, says one of the challenges has been replacing the likes of retirees Jade Lally and Amelia Campbell in the team.
“Harrow really brought the heat. They’re a good club and they’ve recruited really well,” said the 29-year-old.
“We’ve lost some of our big players. But Thames Valley really turned up (at Eton). We had some great performances and a lot of wins.
TVH took three out of four of the 400m hurdles races, while Bianca Williams and Jasmine Wilkins helped them win the A and B-string 100m. In return, Harrow were unbeaten in the men’s 100m races and all four of the shorter sprint hurdles battles.
“It’s going to be really tight for the title this year. We are very confident. So watch out, we are coming in Match Two and Match Three. We definitely see ourselves as a real contender.
With McAlister on the entries for the 400m hurdles on Saturday, TVH could again dominate the first track events as the victorious trio of Samuel Clarke, Nicole Kendall and Sophie Elliss all return following their Eton exploits.
But they will be without fellow winner Molly Palmer after the 6.51-metre long jumper ended her season due to injury. That could open the door for Harrow’s Alice Hopkins, who made her GB senior debut at the European Athletics Indoor Championships in March.
Their squad also boast the likes of Paris 2024 Olympian Nick Percy, who will be looking for back-to-back victories in the discus, and triple jumper Efe Uwaifo, who has competed twice internationally this year.
It will be interesting to see how Emma Nwofor does in the sprint hurdles for TVH after her recent improvement to 12.87, as she faces Harrow Marli Jessop, another who took top spot in May.
The same can be said for Jessop’s team-mate Poppy Malik, who ran a time of 51.90 for 400m to rubber-stamp her selection for the European Athletics U23 Championships this month. Alyson Bell – who has also been confirmed for that event in Bergen – has a chance to follow up the 23.01 personal best at Eton for Glasgow Jaguars, which put her right on the qualifying mark for the 2026 Commonwealth Games.
Others putting on the pink vest include fellow sprinter Lucy Fraser, along with Erin Campbell, Mhairi Patience and Kelsey Stewart.
International hammer throwers Charlotte Payne, Jake Norris and Taylor Campbell again hold hopes of big points for Windsor, Slough, Eton and Hounslow.
Payne is expected to face 69-metre thrower Katie Head of Woodford Green with Essex Ladies, for whom Phil Norman and Georgie Forde-Wells are among the bigger names competing.
Shaftesbury Barnet Harriers have javelin thrower Daniel Bainbridge fresh off the back of the European Athletics Team Championships.
Adele Nicoll is set to be involved for Birchfield Harriers. She’s a javelin entrant alongside her regular shot put, while Diani Walker is entered in the 100m and both relays.
At the time of writing, not all teams have entered their full squads.
